Everything Kirby Smart said after Georgia’s ho-hum win over Kentucky
By John Buhler
Kirby Smart spoke after Georgia’s low-scoring road victory over Kentucky on Saturday evening.
Kirby Smart’s Georgia football program improved to 11-0 on the year and 8-0 in SEC play for the second straight season by outlasting a feisty Kentucky team on Saturday night in Lexington.
Although the Dawgs played with their food all game long, a win is a win is a win. It may not have been incredibly enjoyable for Dawg Nation, but most of the best teams in the country had issues on Saturday afternoon as well. The good news for Georgia is Smart seemed to be in full control of his emotions at the podium in the post-game press conference. His remarks felt very reassuring.
Smart knew all along this would be the type of game that would be played vs. the Wildcats.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart up now.
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) November 20, 2022
Smart: “Was really proud of our guys tonight … We knew it would be this type of game. We talked about all week.
“Really proud of when our guys’ backs are against the wall how they come out fighting.”
He defended going for it on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter in a critical spot for the Dawgs.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on his decision to go for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter: “‘Cause I felt like to win the game you’ve got to run it in on fourth-and-1.”
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) November 20, 2022
Smart commended the defensive stands his team would make in crunch time vs. the UK offense.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on the defensive stands late: “It was bend but don’t break … The wins on fourth downs was the difference in the game.”
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) November 20, 2022
He would again take responsibility for going for it on fourth-and-goal when a chip-shot field goal was possible to go up 19-0 on Kentucky.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on how much discussion there was about going for it on fourth down: “That’s my decision … What happens on the headphones stays on the headphones.”
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) November 20, 2022
Smart said he has confidence in his players and would make the same call again if he could
Overall, Smart seems to see the value in his team handling adversity well in spots like these, as they have bigger fish to fry in December and beyond.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart on this team being able to respond in adverse situations: “I think they really believe in that … They really believe in those [DNA traits], and they have responded in adverse situations”
— Jordan D. Hill (@JordanDavisHill) November 20, 2022
Georgia will host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate next Saturday.
Kirby Smart spoke to the media after Georgia’s road win over rival Kentucky
The great news for Georgia is the Dawgs no longer have to impress the Selection Committee; they just need to win games. They did that on the road vs. a Kentucky team that largely underachieved this season. UK slipped to 6-5 on the year after coming off a 10-win campaign a season ago. Yet for one evening in the cold, the Wildcats played like a team who was never afraid of the big Dawgs.
Should the Dawgs take care of business Between the Hedges next Saturday, they will be 12-0 and a lock to make the College Football Playoff, regardless of any outcome in Atlanta vs. SEC West champion LSU. Of course, the Dawgs are not the defending SEC champions, as their lone loss on the season a year ago came to Alabama in Atlanta. They would avenge that defeat in Indianapolis.
Ultimately, this is one of those games where Georgia accomplished what it needed to. It got the win over an annual rival without any massive injuries and did not empty the playbook to beat the Wildcats. The absolute best part of this victory is there are plenty of things on tape Smart and his staff can get his players to clean up. You do not want a team to peak well before it has to anyway.
We knew this game in Lexington was not going to be easy, but Smart and the boys still got it done.
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